Jammu, Apr 25 :
Former Chief Minister and National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah Thursday (April 25) said Central Government, Raj Bhawan, BJP and its proxies are fighting elections against National Conference in Jammu & Kashmir, and said “The candle of NC cannot be extinguished by ill-machinations of our foes”.
Talking to reporters
From Centre to Raj
outside the office of Returning Officer (RO), 02-Srinagar Parliamentary Constituency the former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that from Central Government to Raj Bhawan, everyone is contesting elections against National Conference (NC).
“Be it Central Government, Raj Bhawan, BJP, it’s A, B & C teams all are fighting elections against National Conference. We have seen elections in past as well. Few days back BJP announced its support openly to PDP, which clearly vindicates that from Central Government to Raj Bhawan everyone is fighting elections against NC,” Omar Abdullah said and added, “Such institutions and elements will receive big jolt in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections”.
He added the candle of NC cannot be extinguished and will remain lit up forever.
Omar Abdullah is an Indian politician who served as former Chief Minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and Chairperson of Jammu and Kashmir National Conference since 2009.
He became the 11th and the youngest Chief Minister of the State of Jammu and Kashmir and youngest Lok Sabha member, after forming a government in coalition with the Congress party, on 5 January 2009.
He was the last Leader of opposition in the erstwhile state Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly (Member of the Legislative Assembly from Beerwah constituency of Budgam district) before the assembly was dissolved in 2018 and the state of Jammu & Kashmir ceased to exist as on 6 August 2019. On 6 February 2020 the Government of India booked him under the Public Safety Act (PSA) which was revoked on 24 March 2020.
He was a member of 14th Lok Sabha, representing Srinagar constituency of Jammu and Kashmir, India. He was the Union Minister of State for External affairs in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s NDA government, from 23 July 2001 to 23 December 2002. He resigned from NDA government in October 2002 to concentrate on party work.
Omar Abdullah welcomes Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his arrival at Jammu airport in 2011.
Omar joined politics in 1998, as a Lok Sabha member, a feat he repeated in subsequent three elections and also remained the Union minister; he took on the mantle of National Conference from his father in 2002, though lost his own seat of Ganderbal during the 2002 state assembly elections, and so did his party, the political mandate; four years later, he contested once again from the same seat and won in the 2008 Kashmir State Elections.
In run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Omar Abdullah showed unwillingness to go for a seat sharing agreement with other political parties under the INDIA alliance in Jammu and Kashmir, and insisted on NC contesting all seats in Kashmir region
